DESCRIPTION:
Azymuth performing at The Sugar Club Dublin 15th June 2013 performing 'Dear Limmertz'

ALEX MALHEIROS -- BASS
IVAN 'MAMAO' CONTI -- DRUMS
FERNANDO MORAES -- KEYBOARDS

In 1979 the band's first Milestone Records release, 'Light As A Feather' quickly became one of the best-selling LPs of the year. Featuring the worldwide disco/fusion hit single 'Jazz Carnival' and going on to sell more than half a million copies internationally, the album stayed in the UK Top 20 for eight straight weeks. The album took Azymuth to international fame with a string of hit singles taken from it including the worldwide top ten chart-buster 'Jazz Carnival'. An incredibly well thought out album both in pace, song selection and musicality, 'Light As A Feather' marked a maturing of the band as they began to rightfully utilise the studio as an instrument itself, embracing numerous mixing and recording techniques not yet common for the time as well as pioneering the use of the Big Muff and Dolby System to great effect. The end result is an album that endures to this day as a samba/jazz-funk masterpiece.
Combining funk, soul and jazz with samba, Azymuth are the legendary Brazilian three-piece orchestra who were responsible for creating a new sound and genre of their own -- 'Samba Doido (Crazy Samba)'. José Roberto Bertrami, Ivan Conti and Alex Malheiros made up the trio originally -- legendary musicians who together have released over 20 albums in four decades and who, since reforming in 1995, have delighted their fan base with their outstanding albums for Far Out.
José Roberto Bertrami sadly passed away 08 July 2012. It is the band's mission to keep Jose's work alive, through tours and further recordings later on. This will be a special tour as it will pay homage to him.
Their music has a worldwide fan base. In England, Azymuth was the first Brazilian group to feature number one in the charts and their 40-year career has produced more than 300 productions, worldwide. Playboy Jazz Festival, Berkeley, Bay Concert The Sea, Monterey, California, Washington Park, Circus Teather, Pallais London, Quartier Latin, Brazilian Fest Berlin, Athennas, Tijuana Jazz, Free Jazz Rio and S. Paulo, Brahma Extra; some of the world's most important festivals have seen Azymuth graced their stages. Having toured the world over four decades in support of their vast catalogue the band has in recent years played spectacular shows and consistently sold-out renowned clubs & events
GROUP HISTORY
They started their individual careers in the 1960s in the emergent bossa nova and jazz scene of Rio, living in the same bohemian block in Copacabana and playing in small bars as session musicians. Bertrami had noticed how great Mamao was as a drummer, and how fantastic Alex was with his new electric bass, and invited them to record with him: their first piece of work together was under the name Group Projeto 3 in 1968.
It was the early 1970s before they really caused a stir though. Marcos Valle invited them to record on a soundtrack LP in tribute to the great Brazilian Formula 1 racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi (O Fabuloso Fittipaldi). After the success of the record in Brazil they asked Marcos if they could use the name of one of the tracks ('Azimuth') from the EP as their name and the rest is history! Their musical output was enormous at this point in the early 70s -- Bertrami's flat in Laranjeiros was the centre of a cottage industry producing astonishing, ahead-of-its-time music. Far Out's Joe Davis, who has heard some of this material, describes one demo from the early 70s as "wild, abstract stuff, unlike anything around at that time". Their first recording under the new name was a four track EP with Polydor, which was used in a popular novella (soap opera) -- in Brazil, this is pretty much a guarantee of success for a record. From this followed their first LP with the Som Livre label and 'Linda De Horizonte' (used in another novella). This LP featured classics like 'Manha' (a standard on the London club scene) and 'Faca De Conta'. The unique Azymuth sound was born.